Why Do Athletes Keep Going To College Camps Where They Won’t Get Recruited?
7 min readWhy Do Athletes Keep Going To College Camps Where They Won’t Get Recruited
Subtitle: BCS/FBS type programs one day camps
For the life of me, after 16 years of running combines, camps and showcases, being a head coach in high school football and owning my own NFL Agency, I want to address something that is so ridiculous, I can’t seem to understand it. Here it is, why do athletes keep going to college camps where they won’t get recruited?
Before I go into that nonsense, I will go into reasons first and foremost of why you should go to a D1 BCS/FBS level football one day camp. These are great reasons and make complete sense to me, other than these reasons, my belief is that parents and athletes need to wake up to the opportunities they may be missing out on because of their delusion.
- #1 Reason: You are a definite D1 player and you have been offered by the school or have a high probability of being offered by the school. First off if you are offered it makes sense to get to know the coaches, they can see you workout again and find out if its a place you want to be. If you are close to being offered, meaning you have other offers or you have spoke with the college coach and he has told you that if you do X or Y or Z and you will have a high probability of being offered than it makes perfect sense. High probability includes coaches having you top 5 on their board but you may be just out of reach at this moment. It is not, you got a letter of interest or an invite to come to camp, 10,000 other kids get that and you will never get looked at unless…
- #2 Reason: You are extremely fast, you are extremely tall and athletic, or you are big and athletic. Meaning. If you ran the 100 meter dash in sub 11.00 FAT in the 100 meter dash, which means you will more than likely run a 4.5 or even better. If this is you then it makes sense. If you ran 4.4 by your mother or father timing you or some trainer, then that is not legit. If you haven’t run that at an NUC Sports event or a Nike or Rivals event, get to one of them and find out if thats you before you travel thousands of miles to a college D1 camp. If you are 6’3 and play tight end or receiver or DB and you can run really well and you are a no doubt stud, then yes you should go. If you are a lineman and you are 6’3 or bigger on the offensive line and weigh 280 or more, and you are actually athletic, meaning a 25 inch vert or higher then you are ready. If you are a Defensive lineman that can range but if you are interior you better be powerful, fast, and athletic think 6’1 265 or bigger and if you are a Defensive end and you are long and athletic 6’2 or bigger and fast as heck, preferably 6’3 or bigger. If you are a running back, speed, speed and your film will be be key, but if you are a midget and you are not a bullet, don’t waste your time. If you are a QB and you can truly sling the football around with a quick release and are 6’1 or bigger in most cases, have thrown for over 1500 in a season or more and have great film. If you can run depending on the school that is gonna be very important. Do not be 5’9, 5’10 and think you are gonna get looked at, if you want to play another position maybe…but no way at QB. Its important that you really understand what schools are looking for, look at their depth chart and see what those athletes have done. This will give you an idea what they are looking for.
- #3 Reason: You really just want to get coached up by college coaches and really want to learn. This is a great reason and can be for any athlete, if you want to go their learn from exceptional coaches and have a great time. If you want to see what its like to be on a big time college campus and really see what its all about this is also a great reason. Going to big time schools is a ton of fun and if you go their looking to enjoy the experience, learn and have a great time, this is a great place to be.
- #4 Reason: A smaller school coach told you to come because they want to see you in person. Many times FCS (1aa) or D2/D3 coaches are working the camp. If they reach out to you and tell you they will be there and want to see you in person, this is a great reason to go. Athletes can build a relationship with that coach if they get to spend time with them there and learn from that experience. FCS schools and lower level schools run their own camps and many times they do it in July or late June so you can build the relationship at a FBS schools camp.
Honestly, those are the only reasons I can see to go. Schools like Rutgers has had over 1000 kids attend and have offered 15 kids maybe at those camps, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, USC and many others are all in that same boat, If you do the math that means that 1 to 1.5% of the athletes are getting offered at these camps and that makes perfect sense. This is the same percentage of a student going to Harvard or Yale or Stanford. In fact it may be easier to go to an Ivy league school then to get offered at a camp like this.
So what should athletes be doing. #1 don’t be delusional, be optimistic, be diligent, be positive, but don’t be delusional. According to wikipedia:
de·lu·sion·al
dəˈlo͞oZH(ə)nəl/
adjective
- characterized by or holding idiosyncratic beliefs or impressions that are contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder.
- “hospitalization for schizophrenia and delusional paranoia”
- based on or having faulty judgment; mistaken.
- “their delusional belief in the project’s merits never wavers”
When you read that you really think to yourself, why would anyone want to be delusional? In fact, no one wants to be delusional, but when it comes to college scholarship and D1 offers people become delusional. I have worked with over 20,000 athletes that have gone onto D1 and over 1000 that have now gone onto the NFL and one thing I have learned. THEY ARE ALL AMAZING ATHLETES WITH EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS.
I love to ask skill players…do you run track? if they say yes, then I ask, what is your official 100 meter dash time…FAT (fully automatic), i usually get some answer like umm..I am not sure or 11.65 and then they go onto to tell me that they are 4.4 in the 40…There is no way in God’s loving earth you are 4.4. 11.65 is more like 4.8, so learn the truth about your ability.
So where do you turn. Here is what you should do.
- Find out your exact measurables, height, size, speed, jumping. If you know them then you know your level athletically.
- How good is your film really!! If your film is great, chances are you will be great at the camp. If you film is ok, don’t waste your time at an FBS camp and find the right fit
- Find the right fit, schools at all levels have camps, and if you go to the right level chances are you will have less competition and more personal attention at the camp, which means a coach will get to work with you, like you and invest in your possible success. You will be a standout in the right atmosphere, instead of being a small fish in a big pond. Sometimes it is better to be the big fish in the small pond and you will get more opporunity
- Do your research. Look at rosters, talk to college coaches, and ask your high school coach, where can i play. It may not be the whole picture but will start to create something on your canvas
- Find an expert, I am amazed at how often many parents and athletes say they want to play in college or want their son to play in college but won’t spend any money with any experts to help them get there. Find an expert and talk to him. Heck if you want me to look at your film, I will do an evaluation for you and give you honest feedback. You can do that here if you are interested CLICK ME.
- Learn from competing, by going to camps in the spring and all star games in the winter you learn where you may stand. You will also learn if you go to college camp early on in your career like freshman year and then begin to focus when you see what kind of competition level you are at.
I hope this helps as always I am trying to help you become the best you can be on and off the field.
check me out any time at www.nucsports.com , www.successforlifepodcast.com , dschuman36@gmail.com or David Schuman on twitter and @daveschuman on instagram.
Talk to you soon, David Schuman
About Author
